Reviews by SleepyMonk:

Striking appearance with a gold color that would match any fine jewellery. Immediately after pouring the glass is almost half full with a lively head with over active carbonation at play. Took 3 pours to get the glass full with a steady head that eventually rested as two fingers with a creamy look and mild lace.

Nose is heavy with ripe banana which I always get from weissbier plus mild citrus and cooked wheat straight from the baking tray.

Taste is light bodied and crisp with a mild tang that holds on the taste buds for a good period of time eventually fading away with mild wheats

Just as taste would indicate the mouthfeel is crisp yet more complex than most beers that get tagged with the crisp description.

Drinkability.... one nice beer that would go well with a spicy meal or a meal with variety that demands a palate cleanser (898 characters)

More User Reviews:

Appearance  Light yellow in color and clear with strong carbonation and a beautiful head that foamed up nicely and had some good retention.

Smell  Big, fluffy wheat characterizes this nose. The yeast and light fruiting make up the typical Kristal Weizen aroma.

Taste  Wonderful example of the style. The yeast and light fruits, predominantly bananas and peach, make up the delicate yet distinctive taste.

Mouthful  This also was very authentic. IMO, the mouthfeel of a weizen is the most important aspect of the style and that which is most often missed. Here though it is terrific. The body is light yet fluffy in the cheeks. The carbonation dances around the tongue.

Drinkability  Great for in between meals, especially on this Christmas Day. I will definitely buy again.

Update  I love a good Kristal Weizen and this is the only good one that Ive had in the US. I decided to re-rate it with a 2004 vintage since my original review was in 2003.

This nose is just huge. I dont remember it being this big. Its gorgeous, really, and heavy on the yeast which is how I like it. Its the same at the taste. This is a solid 4.5 overall and by far my favorite example of the style that Ive had in the US. Nothing else that Ive sample even comes close. (1,286 characters)

Look (4/5) – Pours a very light straw colour. Head is decent: rose well of a standard pour; soapy texture; very white; and, falls a bit quickly to a cap without any real lacing. Clarity is brilliant. There’s some really nice visible carbonation.

Smell (4/5) – Some decent wheat graininess provides a nice background. The standard weizen yeast flavours of banana and cloves jump out at me right away. The balance between them is ideal; I like a bit more clove than banana. There’s also a note in there that I would describe as a bit sulphur-like, it’s not hugely strong and blends very nicely with the flavours. No hops and no alcohol notes are noticeable.

Taste (4.5/5) – Similar to the nose. The grain bill boasts some nice wheat graininess as well as a bit of very light melanoidins (I’d guess at a Munich pilsner malt with maybe there was some light Vienna/Munich malt included in the grist here). The flavours of banana and cloves are dominant, but they’re milder and lighter than you get in a hefe. No hop flavour, hop bitterness is medium-light. The sulphur-like notes were not very strong on the palate.

Feel (3.5/5) – Medium-light body (the malty sweetness of it gave it a slightly more substantial flavour) and high carbonation. Pretty standard fair for the style, but good.

I’m really much more familiar with hefeweizens than I am with krystalweizens, but this was a great example. Whereas a hefe is somewhat more substantial in both flavour and body due to the suspended yeast, I found that this one was a lot lighter and went down much smoother. This is a great summer brew is served cool enough. I still prefer the hefe that these guys make. (1,678 characters)

A - Beautiful and easily identifiable. Clean. Head is thick and lasts.

S - A bit weak, my first impression was that this might not have any flavor to it.

T - Ah here it is. For such a clean look, its got this nice little bite carried on the carbonation, kinda drying aftertaste. This is delicious cold, but I really prefer all the Stephaners just barely cool, and on occasion warm. These really just get better as you get about 1/3 through the glass its lost its chill.

M - Carbonation carries the flavor, smooth

D - For some time i drank these in place of light beer and would get quite inebriated... its just too easy to down these, and I've got a somewhat easily bothered stomach.

A great brewery making a great kristall.Brilliant gold color,nice clean looking,fruity with a little mineral in aroma.Nice kind of herbal mineral quality in the flavor,goes down incredibly easy.There is something about the house yeast that imparts a tropical flair to their beers.A great summertime beer but just happened to drink one here in winter,good year around. (367 characters)

Poured into a Duvel tulip glass. Pours a golden yellow with exceptional clarity and a constant stream of bubbles rising from the etched bottom. The head was a nice, foamy white that retained excellently and left a decent amount of lacing behind. The nose hit with a familiar clove and banana scent, reminiscent of the hefeweisen style. The taste was also full of clove with a hint of banana, along with a sweet, yeasty, biscuity flavor that followed. The alcohol comes out at the end of the sip and sits in your mouth, however it doesn't burn (low ABV, here), it's just noticeable. Slight bubblegum-like sweetness goes hand in hand with the malts as well. Unlike many hefes, however, I feel the taste is "thin" and somewhat lacking, with an aftertaste that is just a bit too watery. The body is fairly thin and very crisp with a heavy does of carbonation (once again, common to this style).

Very nice hefeweisen. Easy to drink, sweet, and overall tasty. Slightly lacking in flavor compared to other hefes out there (including more by Weihenstephaner), but good nonetheless. (1,075 characters)

With so few authentic kristallweizens out there, this one was a refreshing summer beverage. It pours a very light golden color, almost looks like a light offering from an American mass domestic, but the pour produces a beautiful frothy white head. The head lasted for quite a while on top of a mildly fizzy beer. The aroma delivered the pleasant and expected estery and fruity notes, predominantly banana. Taste of wheat, but a nice crispness to it and finishes clean. Its rare to have a tasty beer that really quenches your thirst AND provides a balanced flavor as well. Nice with lemon chicken dish. (603 characters)

Pours a very clear pale gold color. Smells faintly of banana and cloves. Taste is very good, quite refreshing. (I'd imagine this would taste even better on a warm summer's day.) It's like a muted hefe. The mouthfeel is full and clean.

Overall, this is a darn good beer. I'm definitely going to be drinking more this summer. The only real quibble I have is the price: $4 for a 16-oz bottle. Other than that, yum! (415 characters)

Pours a crystal clear bright gold. Can see the bubbles rushing up to keep a nice 1/8 inch bubbly head at all times for the duration of drinking.

Smells lemony with just a bit of grass & hay. No lemon addition necessary at all.

Slightly sour, lemony & hoppy on the tongue. The normal yeast taste with hefes isn't there by design, so just the perfect balance of hops & malt shine through with this beer. Feels great in the mouth as the sparkly carbonation dances in your mouth & holds up throughout.

Absolutely a world-class beer from a world-class brewer. (613 characters)

Pale golden with lotsa chunks floating through it. Lots of white frothy head. Some beading going on with the carbination. Scented like a gueze, lightly soured and slightly musty, -like a good wine cellar. Very light mouthfeel- so feather-light and gentle, so soft. Not creamy. Just... there. Same with the tast, not much is jumping out with the flavor, this is so very balanced. Some light malty flavors, but barely. Kind of like a watered down saison maybe... The more it warms, the more the flavor devolops in here. Easy drinking since it is so mild. But if you are searching for flavors, you may find this one lacking. (621 characters)

Presentation: It was poured from a brown 500ml bottle into a Weizen glass. There is no freshness date on the label but there is a bottle number 0079 on the back label.

Appearance: The body has a clear golden color with lots of beautiful carbonation steaming up to the surface. The pour produced a very tall, aggressive and tight foamy head. It has a bright white color with great retention and lacing.

Smell: Its nose is full of fruity yeast with notes of banana and clove. There are notes of pale beady wheat as well and just a touch of citrus.

Taste/Palate: The flavor is very bright and fresh with plenty of fruity yeast. There are notes of banana, clove and a slight hint of citrus fade into dry crisp wheat malt notes. The finish is very crisp and snappy with some wheat tang and citrus quickly leaving the tongue. The body has a solid medium feel with cleansing active carbonation.

Notes: This was my first Kristalweizen and I was very impressed with the bright clean flavor and good solid yeast flavor. There was much more yeast character than I was expecting in this crystal clear German wheat beer. (1,111 characters)

Smell: Fruity of bananas and pears with hints of melon and placid clove spice aroma. Trace wheat malt in the nose, cracker-like maltiness.

Taste: Modest body with a crisp solid carbonation that is both slightly sharp in the bite and fluffy in the mouth feel. Quick to the sharpness of the carbonation and spicy clove character gives a tingling sensation which cleans the palate. Fruity flavours lay subdued in the back though some alcoholic esters are obvious. Hops are nearly nonexistent with only a minute trace of flavour towards the end. Wheat malt is straightforward with a nutty and mild acidic twang more towards the finish. Relatively clean after taste with some remaining spicy wheat flavours.

Notes: Drinkable without a doubt with a palate cleansing quality, certainly good drinking and a great lunch time brew. Goes excellent with a cobb salad. (1,119 characters)